OOOHHH.. Whata good thread.. I am interested to see what everyone says.
I like to read Dorothea Benton Frank books on the beach. She is an author from South Carolina and her reads are really nice for beach reads. Her new one was just recently released called Folly Beach. I can wait to open it up while drinking a nice cold dirty banana!
Last year while at CSA I read her Lowcountry Summer. 3 of my favorites by her are Isle of Palms, Shem Creek, and Sullivans Island.

I have my Nook loaded up with several items in the genre that I like: David Baldacci's Stone Cold, Harlan Coben's Play Dead, and John Grisham's The Appeal just to name a few. None of them new, but all on my extensive "to read" list.

Water for Elephants was good... have "The Help" and some classics that I have always said I wanted to read... "Communist Manefesto", "Tale of Two Cities" "The Scarlet Letter" etc... not sure if I will make it through that many - but have purchased some good older books that are on my must read list and need to get cracking!

I love Marisa de los Santos. She finally released a new book on 10/4. Her books in order:

Love Walked In
Belong to Me
Falling Together (new)

I also second Water for Elephants.

My word of advice for Nook/Kindle users: Pack a good old fashioned paperback just in case. I didn't have a chance to get a new Nook Book because of the wedding craziness before our honeymoon. For some reason, my Nook froze when I hooked it up to the CSA WiFi. I apparently left it frozen for too long and drained my battery beyond recharging and I had no book all week!

I have a few things on my to-read list: Pillars of the Earth (older, but I'd suggest Follett's newest series/book "Fall Of Giants," if you have an e-reader (It's pretty massive/heavy otherwise)); a few non-fiction, some history, some biography...

But for suggestions, I'd say Michael Crichton's "Pirate Latitudes" is a great Jamaica read (an apocryphal account of a historical pirate in the 16th century (don't hold me to the century, please); and anything by Carl Hiassen is light and fun and semi-tropical. If you have any bent toward fantasy (think LOTR, not Harry Potter), I'd suggest Martin's "Game of Thrones," but again you'll want an e-reader for that one, likely.

I tend to read some 'darker' lit, but have opted to not bring anything too scary or depressing. lol I love David Sedaris - "Me Talk Pretty One Day", "Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim," and "Engulfed in Flames". You need sort of a twisted sense of humor to really enjoy that, though.

Also discovered Laurie Notaro not too long ago and will be enjoying some of her work.

I've saved my last 2 months of magazine subscriptions to browse through, too. I figure Cosmo might have some pointers to use on the trip... lol! *Blushes*

When we were at CTI last January we loved reading the day away!
I really enjoyed "The Help" this summer
I just finished "Sarah's Key" - excellent altho' very sad
One of my all time fav's "The Glass Castle"!

Thanks for all the suggestions - time to get my reading list organized! Hubby-to-be already has a big bag full of new books for our next trip to CTI ~ 78 sleeps!!! Yeeeeeeee

I'm really enjoying A True History of Paradise by Margaret Cezair-Thompson. This was mention on another thread and is set in Jamaica. Loved The Help. Carribean by James Mitchner is an oldy but goodie and really gives you a great history of the area, including the pirates.

David Baldacci is an excellent writer, I will be bringing 1 or 2 in the King/Maxwell series in April 12 to read while relaxing on the beach.

Originally Posted by Janicek

I have my Nook loaded up with several items in the genre that I like: David Baldacci's Stone Cold, Harlan Coben's Play Dead, and John Grisham's The Appeal just to name a few. None of them new, but all on my extensive "to read" list.

We haven't been to CSA yet but are booked for Oct 2012 ~ is it safe to leave things in a beach bag on the beach while you're in the sea? specifically thinking about things like camera, kindle etc. Hope this isn't a stupid question but I'm so looking forward to lounging about reading my kindle books and don't want to be worried about it. ~ I'm also going to be reading The Help and a few others that I'm storing up. Can't wait!